


Chicken Soup for the Soul

by kimpotato



Series: Awakening [3]
Category: NU'EST
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:15:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24698944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimpotato/pseuds/kimpotato
Summary: It was on a whim, really, cooking chicken soup for Jonghyun because he had been sniffling over supper the previous night. So what if Mingi had to wake up an hour earlier during the weekend? So what if he almost burned the kitchen twice?
Relationships: Choi Minki | Ren & Kim Jonghyun | JR, Choi Minki | Ren/Kim Jonghyun | JR
Series: Awakening [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1653946
Comments: 8
Kudos: 22
Collections: Nu'fics x The Parallel





	Chicken Soup for the Soul

**Author's Note:**

> Companion piece to [Lucky](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22360168) from the Awakening series. Give it a read, too, if you please!
> 
> ***
> 
> Nu'fics x The Parallel Fic Fest  
> Category: Domestic

“J-Rie?”

Mingi rapped his knuckles lightly against Jonghyun’s bedroom door before pushing it with his foot. In his hands he carried a tray of what suspiciously looked like chicken soup, but even Mingi himself wasn’t sure anymore.

“J-Rie?”

It was dark inside Jonghyun’s bedroom, which wasn’t really unusual. Mingi was met with no answer, which wasn’t out of the ordinary either.

“Yah, Kim Jonghyun, are you still alive?”

Mingi wasn’t sure if his housemate wasn’t answering because he was still sleeping (he had been under the weather for a few days now), or if he was again in his favorite spot in their two-story house.

“I’m turning on the lights.”

Mingi felt for the switch, flipped it on, and found himself alone in Jonghyun’s small but tidy bedroom. He cursed under his breath.

“Imma beat him up, I swear,” he huffed, flipping the switch off and stepping out of the doorway. Still carrying the tray, he carefully made his way into their small balcony, and then sighed (in relief and frustration) when he found the person he had been looking for.

“Seriously?”

Jonghyun was wrapped in his comforter, facing the recently risen sun. His cheeks were slightly red, evidence of the cold he was still nursing. Curled in his lap was Lucky, Minseok’s Persian cat, and often Mingi’s competition for Jonghyun’s attention.

A lazy smile appeared on Jonghyun’s face the second Mingi came into view. “Good morning, Rennie.”

“Good morning my foot,” Mingi huffed, placing the tray of chicken soup on the coffee table so he could feel Jonghyun's forehead. “You’re burning, idiot. Who told you to get out of bed?”

Jonghyun sniffed back the snot running down his nose. “I’ll be fine,” he grinned, lightly scratching Lucky’s head. “Morning sunlight is good for your soul.”

The IG influencer wrinkled his nose. “Quotable, but I am definitely not posting that on social media anytime soon.”

“Mhmm,” Jonghyun hummed, and then tilted his head toward the tray. “Is that for me?”

Mingi felt his ears burn. It was on a whim, really, cooking chicken soup for Jonghyun because he had been sniffling over supper the previous night. So what if he had to wake up an hour earlier during the weekend? So what if he almost burned the kitchen twice? Jonghyun had cooked for him countless times since he moved into Mingi’s house almost a year ago. Like hell he wasn’t going to try to return the favor now that Jonghyun was too sick to prepare a proper breakfast for them.

“I followed a recipe online,” he replied, defensive. After all, his brother Minseok had told him on numerous occasions that his experimental dishes would, quite literally, end up killing someone, probably sooner than later.

Jonghyun smiled and leaned forward to get the tray, but Mingi whacked his hand and picked up the bowl himself. 

“Hands off, you clumsy onibugi,” he muttered, already scooping a spoonful of broth. “You’ll end up dousing the devil spawn with hot soup, best case scenario.” Lucky hissed in response, as if fighting Mingi even in its sleep.

Mingi blew into the spoon to cool the soup a bit, and then maneuvered it into Jonghyun’s mouth. Jonghyun slurped loudly and then closed his eyes. Mingi waited for the inevitable. He could already hear Minseok’s words in Jonghyun’s voice: _Were you trying to poison me?!_

But Jonghyun simply smiled and opened his mouth again, waiting for his next spoonful. Mingi blinked in surprise, and then quickly blew into the broth again and fed it to his best friend.

They spent the next few minutes in relative silence, aside from Mingi’s quiet whistles while blowing the broth, and Jonghyun’s grateful slurps right after. When the soup’s all gone, Jonghyun leaned back onto his seat and offered Mingi a warm and gentle smile.

Mingi raised an eyebrow in suspicion. “Yah, you’ve lost your sense of taste, didn’t you?”

Jonghyun chuckled and coughed a cute little laugh. “Thank you for the chicken soup, Rennie. It was really good.”

Still suspicious, Mingi put the bowl down, fished his phone from his pocket, and turned the camera on. 

“I’m posting this on IG because your fans said they miss you.”

"I don't have fans."

Mingi snorted. "It's _my_ IG account but the most liked and commented posts are always those with _you_ in them."

Jonghyun gave him a half-frown, but his eyes were sparkling, albeit a bit shy. Mingi took a quick shot and added the caption: _Photosynthesis again?,_ before showing it to Jonghyun for approval. He watched Jonghyun curl his lips as he studied the picture.

“What, you don’t like it?” Mingi asked. “I can take another one.”

Jonghyun shook his head and smiled. “You should change the caption though.”

It was Mingi’s turn to frown. “To what?”

The quiet man shrugged and sniffled. _“_ _Onibugi says ‘Thank you’ for the chicken soup.”_ Playfully, he added, “That should get you more Hearts than usual.”

Mingi found himself blinking back tears that had started to form in his eyes. Opting to keep the original caption, he clicked Post and then put his phone down on the table.

“Didn’t like it, huh?” Jonghyun teased him.

Mingi shook his head and turned to face the sun, which was smiling brightly at them. He felt not just his skin grow warm, but his heart as well. Turning to his best friend, he gave him a soft smile.

“I think I’ll keep that one line for myself.”

###

**Author's Note:**

> Manager-nim A has beta'd so many of my works now I'm getting redundant with my thanks. But I'm still grateful!
> 
> Visit [KP's Corner](https://twitter.com/thelittlebugi/) for more of my plot bunnies and drabbles.


End file.
